TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal thinks the Anthony Davis trade request wasn't handled the proper way, rather giving his input on the matter in an off-set interview with Marc Stein of The New York Times:
“I think they probably should have done it this summer and done it a little bit more quietly,” O’Neal said. “Because now Anthony Davis is in a bad position. As a player, you never want the fans to think you don’t care.”
Davis initially requested a trade on Friday, Jan. 25 — one which did not go public until Monday, Jan. 28 after his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, reached out to the media about the matter.
There are reports that Davis' trade request wasn't made public by his control, but rather by Paul's desire to push the market and force the New Orleans Pelicans to act swiftly and trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers — with less than two weeks before the trade deadline.
Article Continues BelowThe Pelicans are now seeing the aftereffects of this melodrama, as head coach Alvin Gentry was recently asked about the implications of having Davis back, questions that should have been answered by the front office.
Then came the firing of general manager Dell Demps, who was ditched after Gentry's comments rang true with ownership.
Davis' trade request has had plenty of ramifications since it went public, ranging from Nikola Mirotic's trade to the impending disassembly of the rest of the roster; those are often the aftermath of these types of public melodramas.
Jimmy Butler saw a similar thing happen after his trade request, as head coach and president Tom Thibodeau was relieved of his duties shortly after Butler was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.